Shivani Shinde &Amp; Krishna Kant

Stories by Shivani Shinde &Amp; Krishna Kant

This deal will see the single-biggest outflow of foreign capital from India

This deal will see the single-biggest outflow of foreign capital from India

Rediff.com   11 May 2022

The much-talked-about sale of Ambuja Cement and ACC by Holcim Group will see the single-biggest outflow of foreign capital from the country if the two cement firms are acquired by Indian investors. The deal, valued at nearly $10.35 billion, will put in the shade Cairn Energy Plc's exit from India in 2010, when it sold Cairn India to Vedanta Group for $4.48 billion. According to various reports, big business groups such as AV Birla, JSW Group, and Adani Group are in the fray to acquire Holcim's assets in India.

Why cybercrime is running rampant in India and how to stay secure

Why cybercrime is running rampant in India and how to stay secure

Rediff.com   9 May 2022

Do you suspect that your partner is cheating on you and want to find out the truth by installing spyware on their phone? Or, perhaps you are a student who wants to get out of an online classroom so you can play an online game with friends? How about some Zoom raiding for a mere Rs 50-100? Or, are you a person who wishes to hack into someone's phone or laptop, and steal their financial details? Crimeware-as-a-Service (CaaS) allows you to do all this and more.

Apple stops accepting payments using credit cards issued by Indian banks

Apple stops accepting payments using credit cards issued by Indian banks

Rediff.com   6 May 2022

Tech giant Apple has stopped accepting payments via debit and credit cards in India. Apple has stopped accepting cards for subscriptions, and purchases using credit cards issued by banks in India. Apple will also not accept payments for ad campaigns on Apple Search using credit cards issued by Indian banks. All campaigns will be put on hold from June 1.

Early bird Q4 results hint at slowdown for India Inc in upcoming quarters

Early bird Q4 results hint at slowdown for India Inc in upcoming quarters

Rediff.com   3 May 2022

The early bird results for the January-March 2022 quarter (Q4FY22) hint at a slowdown in corporate sector growth in the upcoming quarters. The combined net sales of the 81 early bird companies in the Business Standard sample were up 15.1 per cent year-on-year in Q4FY22; this was less than the 15.9 per cent YoY jump reported in Q3FY22. The slowdown could be much stronger for the domestic market-focused companies, including those in the banking, finance, and insurance (BFSI) space.

TCS, Infosys come to terms with reality of real-time recruiting

TCS, Infosys come to terms with reality of real-time recruiting

Rediff.com   3 May 2022

Tata Consultancy Services, India's largest software exporter, hired 100,000 freshers in the financial year 2021-22, more than in any other year. That means an average of 8,300 trainees joining the company every month. This is not merely a mathematical calculation: hiring of freshers at the top IT companies is no longer a compressed affair confined to the campus season.

10 Most Popular Stocks

10 Most Popular Stocks

Rediff.com   2 May 2022

10 stocks which are most popular with brokerages right now and are expected to deliver maximum upside over the next 12 months.

IT companies may not follow HCL Tech on freshers' salary

IT companies may not follow HCL Tech on freshers' salary

Rediff.com   2 May 2022

It has taken a pandemic to move the needle on the salary packages for greenhorn engineers hired by the Indian IT services sector. The country's third-largest IT services player, HCL Technologies, has decided to boost the entry-level packages from Rs 3-3.6 lakh to Rs 4.25 lakh for FY23, in a bid to attract fresh talent and keep them for longer to counter the impact of rising attrition. This new package would also be applicable to those freshers who joined the firm in FY22.

LIC to join league of top global insurance firms

LIC to join league of top global insurance firms

Rediff.com   29 Apr 2022

When Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) of India gets listed on the bourses next month, it will be among the biggest listed life insurers globally in terms of market capitalisation (m-cap), assets, and revenue, but will also be among the least profitable and capitalised among its peer group. A big gap between LIC's m-cap, profits, and networth (shareholder capital) will make it one of the priciest insurers globally, in terms of price-to-earnings (P/E) multiple and price-to-book value (P/B) ratio. LIC also lags behind its Indian listed peers in terms of profit and networth.

Ambuja Cements-ACC deal likely to propel buyer to No. 2 position

Ambuja Cements-ACC deal likely to propel buyer to No. 2 position

Rediff.com   22 Apr 2022

The possible acquisition of Holcim India business will be one of the biggest inbound corporate deals in the country. Currently, Walmart Inc.'s $16-billion acquisition of Flipkart Online Services in 2018 remains the biggest acquisition of an Indian asset by any acquirer, followed by BP plc acquisition of 30 per cent stake in Reliance Industries' 23 oil and gas production blocks in 2011 for $7.2 billion. Bloomberg reported late on Wednesday night that Holcim - the world's biggest cement maker - is considering a potential sale of its India business and gauging interest in its controlling stake in Ambuja Cement.

Punjab Alkalies' MD saw 6,279% jump in salary in FY21

Punjab Alkalies' MD saw 6,279% jump in salary in FY21

Rediff.com   15 Apr 2022

Despite Covid downturn, CEO salaries went up by an average of 19% in FY21.

Attrition at TCS touches record high; it may get worse, warns management

Attrition at TCS touches record high; it may get worse, warns management

Rediff.com   13 Apr 2022

For Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) - India's largest and the world's second-largest IT services provider - the attrition rate touched an all-time high of 17.4 per cent in Q4FY22. The management, following the announcement of the Q4 results, has warned that the attrition situation could become even worse before any improvement. According to analysts, the short term, the attrition rate at TCS could even touch 20 per cent.

Weight of FMCG cos in Nifty50 lowest in a decade

Weight of FMCG cos in Nifty50 lowest in a decade

Rediff.com   11 Apr 2022

Consumer stocks remain the biggest laggard on the bourses. The Nify50 weighting of FMCG stocks declined to a decade low of 9.9 per cent at the end of March this year, down 150 basis points from 11.4 per cent a year ago. At their peak in March 2013, major FMCG stocks, such as Hindustan Unilever, ITC, and Asian Paints, together accounted for 15 per cent of the Nifty50. But now together with automobile stocks, the consumer goods sector accounts for only 14.7 per cent of the index, down 200 basis points in the past 12 months and 37 per cent from the record high weighting of 23.4 per cent at the end of March 2014.

Q4 preview: IT companies may beat Ukraine crisis, inflation worries

Q4 preview: IT companies may beat Ukraine crisis, inflation worries

Rediff.com   11 Apr 2022

The results of Indian IT services players in the just-concluded fourth quarter of 2021-22 are expected to reveal continuing growth momentum as demand surges on the back of digital transformations and the cloud shift, but analysts anticipate margins to be under pressure due to supply challenges. Analysts covering the sector expect revenue commentary should be strong despite the Russia-Ukraine conflict and inflation. Top-line growth will be driven by broad-based demand with a strong uptick for cloud, digital, cybersecurity, data analytics, and artificial intelligence, among other services.

Tata Neu in numbers: 120 mn customers, 2,500 offline stores, 80 mn downloads

Tata Neu in numbers: 120 mn customers, 2,500 offline stores, 80 mn downloads

Rediff.com   8 Apr 2022

Shivani Shinde reports. The youngest member of the Tata group, the much-awaited Tata Neu, has finally been launched for people across the country. The 'super app' offers a number of services ranging from financial services to tech, travel and even groceries. The app takes off with a customer base of 120 million, with 2,500 offline stores. According to the Tata group, the app will be a one-stop destination for all consumer needs. The super app also offers a bouquet of financial offers like Unified Payments Interface (UPI), bill payments, loans and insurance. Tata Neu will also provide other services like fashion, gadgets, groceries, travel and health.

Under India's digital infra hood: Growing data centres

Under India's digital infra hood: Growing data centres

Rediff.com   1 Apr 2022

As India builds its data centre capabilities, it is imperative that it is supported by green energy. This is because data centres are guzzlers of energy.

Ruble becomes best-performing currency in March

Ruble becomes best-performing currency in March

Rediff.com   31 Mar 2022

The ruble has recouped most of its losses and become the top-performing currency globally. It continues to gain and is up 60 per cent against the US dollar from its lows in the first week of March. The ruble appreciated to 83 to the dollar intraday on Tuesday against a record low of 139 on March 7.

TCS' $50-bn goal below its growth standards

TCS' $50-bn goal below its growth standards

Rediff.com   22 Mar 2022

Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) - the largest information technology (IT) services provider in India and the second-largest globally - recently set an ambitious goal of $50 billion in revenue by 2030. The growth required to reach this goal, however, is lower than the company's own standards. In the past decade, TCS revenues, or net sales in US dollar terms, have grown at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 9.5 per cent, from $10.2 in 2011-12, to an expected $25.3 billion during 2021-22 (FY22), based on its revenue trend in the first nine months of FY22.

How crude oil prices and stock valuations seesaw

How crude oil prices and stock valuations seesaw

Rediff.com   15 Mar 2022

A sharp sell-off in the Indian equities markets after a spike in crude oil prices should not be surprising. Historically there is a negative correlation between stock valuations in India and the price of Brent crude oil, which is the benchmark for the Indian crude oil basket. Between 2011 and 2014, crude oil traded above $100 a barrel for an extended period, the Sensex-trailing price/earnings (P/E) was 18X, on average, during the period, nearly 22 per cent lower than the current index P/E of 23X.

Listed Cos See Rise In Valuations

Listed Cos See Rise In Valuations

Rediff.com   28 Feb 2022

The biggest jump in earnings and decline in P/E multiples has occurred with top companies in metals and mining, corporate banking, and the oil and gas sectors.

TCS tweaks leadership, Suresh Muthuswami made chairman, North America

TCS tweaks leadership, Suresh Muthuswami made chairman, North America

Rediff.com   24 Feb 2022

IT major Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) has made changes to its leadership roles in North America. As part of the changes Suresh Muthuswami has been elevated to the role of chairman, North America, said sources in the know. This is one of the most significant leadership changes the company has announced for the region. The reason for the changes in the North American region, the largest in terms of revenue for TCS, is because Surya Kant who has been at the helm of North America for the past 16 years is stepping down by the end of the fiscal year, as he retires.